I am immensely proud of all who represented our school at the Elite Martial Arts Championships Sport Karate Kentucky State Championships. It was an honor and a privilege to coach our competitors and see them express their art.

18+ intermediate weapons forms - Alex won 1st place for a competition version of the Baat Jaam Dou (Wing Chun Double Knives) Form.

18+ intermediate empty hand forms - Alex won 1st place for a competition version of our Shaolin Kuen Form (from level 7).

18+ continuous sparring - Alex (blue sash) : He won his first fight against a larger, very aggressive opponent. Alex pushed him to his limits, causing him to become physically ill during his rest period. Unfortunately, he lost his second fight by split decision against a larger brown belt. If you know Alex, you know he works hard to live up to the responsibilities of Dai Sihing. His first and second competitive fights were at this same tournament almost exactly a year ago, where each opponent was a black belt level student or instructor. Although he ran his opponents around the ring, back then, the points were just not in his favor, so it was awesome to see him get a well deserved W.

Cameron (blue sash): Although he scored a 1st round knockdown against the same larger brown belt, Cameron lost his fight by split decision while putting up a valiant effort, in spite of having many obstacles to training in the past couple of years. Cameron is a grinder and will not back down. It was also evident last year, when he, too, had to fight a black belt instructor. It was great to have him represent our club, yet again.

Jesus (yellow/white sash): It was great to see Jesus return to the ring after a 5 year absence, but it's been even better to have him return to the club this year after a 4 year absence. For many of us his loss by split decision was controversial, due to his proficiency in evading big kicks, firing back with heavy shots and controlling the ring with forward pressure. His opponent apparently is a 1x WKC National Champion, but when facing Jesus, his sense of timing and distance seemed to disappear.

Matt (white sash): He scored a first round knockdown during his very first fight ever, and got the win, against a matching ranked opponent. Almost immediately he was matched up with a black belt karate instructor, and though he scored another first round knockdown against this vastly more experienced opponent, the second round ended the fight with a hard fought loss.

No matter what the scoreboard says, these fighters are formidable and I am looking forward to watching them grow and hone their art.